BS/MD Results - Class of 2020

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
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I’ve been reading these threads since eighth grade, and am glad to finally be able to give back by sharing my personal application journey.

GPA: 3.9 (UW) 4.4 W
Class Rank: N/A (School Doesn’t Rank)
ACT: 35 C
SAT Subject Tests: Math 2 (800) and Biology M (770.)

APs: 15 Courses 12 tests, mostly 4s, a few 5s, and a 3.

Teacher/Counselor LORs: Good to great LORs; teachers & counselors knew and liked me.

State: PNW
Gender: M
Ethnicity: South Asian (Like most BS/MD applicants :smile: )
Income: N/A
Hooks: From PNW which isn’t as competitive like CA or NY for getting into top undergrads.

Awards:
-National Merit Semi-Finalist to Finalist
-National College Board AP Scholar
-National Youth advisory board award for serving on it (won’t specify b/c of privacy reasons, but talked about in college-specific non bs/md essays.)
-State Science Bowl and Science Olympiad Awards

Medical-related activities:
-1 summer job at local medical school (public health education-related)
-Hospital Volunteering: ~450 hours at application
-Shadowing: ~30 hours, didn’t explicitly list on my application, but referred to in my BS/MD essays.

Other ECs:
-School Science Club (Science competitions) (3 years)
-Library Volunteering (~100 hours at application)
-Indian classical vocal music for the past five years (not competition-level, but for fun)
-Sanskrit related learning for four years
-Food drive like program food fundraiser (2 years)

Applications:

Major: Public Health at most

BS/MD:
UCF BS/MD: Accepted w/full ride undergrad for national merit. High MCAT requirement and pretty expensive OOS. Has interview in 3rd year I think.
USF “BS/MD:” Accepted w/ full ride national merit undergrad but BS/MD is a pathway you have to enroll in once you get in. Has high MCAT requirement and an interview in 3rd year I think.
Tulane: Interviewed, withdrew application before decision b/c knew I wanted to go elsewhere.
Brown PLME: Deferred ED, rejected PLME RD and accepted undergrad
CWRU PPSP: Rejected pre-interview, waitlisted undergrad)
Baylor & Rice/Baylor: Rejected both pre-interview, accepted Baylor undergrad
Penn State/Jefferson: Rejected pre-interview, accepted undergrad
SBU/GWU and GWU/GWU: Rejected both pre-interview, accepted to SBU and GWU undergrad.
UPitt GAP: Rejected pre-interview, accepted undergrad.
URochester REMS: Rejected pre-interview, accepted undergrad.
Stony Brook Scholars for Medicine: Rejected pre-interview, accepted undergrad

Undergrads: (Top Choices)
Vanderbilt: recieved 5k merit for NM
USC: Half tuition for NM
UF/USF/UCF: Full ride for NM

DECISION: Brown for Pre-Med! #Brown2024

Reflections: Apply broadly but know when you’re out of your league (for ex: knew I wasn’t HYPSM level) and make sure to research both BS/MD and undergrad schools a lot for your essays and interviews; furthermore, some schools are community service focused, some more research focused, which you can find out by searching through the threads and looking at the program websites. Also, I was definitely guilty of writing my essays tailored for my top-choice first, and then pretty much using them as a form letter for most other colleges, which can sort of work if you make sure to be careful to tailor it to the specific college/program and refer to aspects of the curriculum.
Finally, KEEP TRACK OF DEADLINES, NOT JUST FOR THE PROGRAMS, BUT ALSO FOR MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS! You might just find a college that you hadn’t though about to be a lot more appealing w/a huge merit scholarship offer and added benefits (honors housing, priority registration, smaller classes etc.)

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Congratulations on Brown premed. PNW for the benefit of the readers is not a state but a region- pacific northwest (Idaho, Oregon, Washington)

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Thank you @grtd2010! Yes, PNW is the Pacific Northwest region, not my state for privacy reasons. :smile:

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@PikachuRocks15 Congrats!

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@ramen2020 Thank you! Congrats on PLME! :smile:

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Congratulations!

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How likely will BSMD programs consider perfect unweighted GPA this year. Since most of the schools gave credit/no credit on transcripts last semester.

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@Budha8
Our county kept the grading system in place as did many of the counties in Florida.

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@PikachuRocks15

Your stats are impressive and congrats on picking Brown for Premed !!!

Any reason why choose Brown over the other schools like Pitts or CWRU? I’m pretty with your stats, you should get Merit scholarships for both schools and many others including free rides like 2 of FLA schools.

Thanks !!!

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Hello everyone!

I have been a primarily passive participant on the cc forums and learned so much from everyone’s advice. I hope the information I provide below will be helpful to future applicants! For privacy reasons, I may not be entirely specific. However, this is also reflective of real life because there is no single clear cut recipe into getting accepted to BS/MDs!

Let’s start with basics! - demographics and scores:
Asian American Female
Middle Class
Midwest
GPA/Grades: Primarily A student, utilized school’s AP & Dual Enrollment opportunities
36 (super scored) ACT and near perfect SAT Subject Test Scores
My school does not rank, but I know I am top 10 of my graduating class of ~500

Healthcare Extracurriculars:
President of clubs at my high school and other local organizations
Research at a lab related to healthcare field and received secondary authorship
Science Fair and Robotics throughout middle and high school, ranking top in state
2000+ hours of meaningful community service and mentorship - I volunteered in diverse areas that were meaningful to me. Not everything has to be STEM related and it is important to show colleges who you are as a person and link it to healthcare.
Medical Related: shadowing and hospital volunteering (These are the classics, but I actually recommend you find more meaningful/creative ways to immerse yourself in the medical field.)
Huge advocate for STEM Outreach and Women Empowerment in those fields

Recommendation Letters: I did not read my letters, but I have very good relationships with the teachers and mentors who wrote my letters. I trust them to be fantastic, displaying my character traits and professionalism.

Decision: 7 Year BS/MD with Upstate Medical University

Reflections:

The application process is long and confusing. Often times, it feels like you’re writing an essay every single day and not even making a dent in the pile of work you have to do. Trust me when I say there is an end and ultimately you will look back to find. the process rewarding!

Do your research! Some schools have conditional acceptances where a high GPA, MCAT, and secondary interview in undergrad are required. Really evaluate whether these programs will guarantee your matriculation into medical school - as that is probably your goal. Predict what your cost of attendance and location may be BEFORE applying. If these predictions are beyond your interest, it may be better to not apply. Create a spreadsheet to keep track of your deadlines. People rarely apply to BS/MDs from my region, so I did not have a lot of the mentorship that may be available for others. Therefore, feel free to hmu if your in the same situation and have questions!

Ask yourself “Why am I applying to BS/MDs?” Make sure you are applying for the RIGHT reasons and that you are really committed. These programs are highly competitive and many do not have waitlists. Thus, your acceptance will likely result in the rejection of another. If you have already committed to a 4 yr undergrad, a combined medical program, or are simply no longer interested - please do others the courtesy of withdrawing. At the same time, these programs are highly competitive so it will benefit you to apply broadly. Many times decisions involve a little bit of luck and are unpredictable, so applying to many programs early WILL increase your chances.

You DO NOT need to be perfect to be admitted. I have been asked numerous times what my “world altering” contribution or hook is… the key is I don’t have one! I am a normal student and I ensured to demonstrate the whole person I am in my application. I am passionate, dedicated, & inquisitive, but I am in no means a perfect 4.0. I served to motivate a countless number of people abroad and locally in STEM without starting an official non-profit. I positively impacted my local community in ways that may accumulate (with the work of all of you) to changing the world. My point is that despite what you may see in a lot of admitted BS/MD students, there are a lot of factors in play. Standardized test scores and grades are the first screening. After you meet the minimum requirements, having a genuine personal essay and good interview skills are most crucial! College will be able to tell when you are lying or presenting a highly exaggerated story lol.

I received over a dozen BS/MD or Early Assurance Interviews. I was admitted to just over half of them. Some of them were better “name wise,” but overall Upstate was the best choice for me. Some factors I used are year length, location, surrounding opportunities, residency matching, cost, quality/involvement of faculty in program, etc. I also got accepted into numerous Top-25 schools for pre med. - make sure to apply to some of these in case!

I hope this post is helpful to future applicants and good luck!

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@ttb1263 Thank you!! I’m extremely excited to be heading to Brown this Fall (or next Spring I guess due to COVID.)

Regarding your question, I received a Full Ride/COA scholarship from the University of Florida as a National Merit Scholar. Both Pitt and CWRU (which I was waitlisted at) would have given me around a half-tuition scholarship, which wouldn’t allow me to justify the cost difference between them and the University of Florida; this is why I declined my waitlist offer at CWRU.

Quite frankly, even though other schools offered me more scholarship money, I chose Brown because it had always been my top choice; so when I was accepted RD after being deferred ED, I knew I had to go there. It was definitely a tough decision to not pursue admission to Tulane’s BS/MD program or to enroll in UCF’s Burnett Medical Scholars program, but the combination of Brown’s Open Curriculum and its strong premed advising program made me certain that this was the right choice for me.

Please let me know if you have any other questions! Applying to BS/MD programs and to college in general can be difficult, so I’m happy to share any tips I’ve learnt over the course of this process.

Good luck with college admissions!!

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Of course, the prestige of an Ivy league was never a factor in your decision with full pay status at Brown University. The University of Florida is a great public institution. IMO, for a UG premed, there is no advantage at Brown vs UF or UCF. Pre-med is just a set of courses and when to take them. For medical related ECs, you have to seek the opportunities yourself. You can devise an open curriculum yourself at any university by taking electives beyond your major.

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@PikachuRocks15, @ttb1263

It looks like you have your mind set on Brown and if your family can afford the cost, then its all good. Additionally, ivy league education would perhaps make sense if a student is undecided about medicine and has no interest in pursuing advanced/post graduate degrees.

However, I agree with @grtd2010 that University of Florida is a great public university and that a premed student should consider other factors when deciding on their UG.

Some factors that come to mind are -

  1. Having a top GPA and being among the top of your UG class is important when applying to medical schools. A student has a better chance of being top 10% of their class at University of Florida compared to an ivy league institution. Brown has eliminated calculating GPA for its students and allows students to opt in for no-credit courses. I am not sure how medical schools will consider these when compared to a student with near perfect GPA’s at other institutions, especially Top public universities.
  2. Also, Premed Students will end up paying for UG and med school followed by a long residency. So, financial awareness is important.
  3. Premed students need to think of not only UG ranking but also med school ranking.

More details on #2 & #3 -

Usnews rank for Brown is #14 but comes at a price tag of 309,000 for undergrad.

University of Florida has a usnews ranking of #34 and is ranked #7 public university in USA.

The ranking of other institutions mentioned in the post are -
USC is ranked #22, CWRU & Tulane are ranked #40, UPitt is ranked #57 and UCF ranked #166 by us news for undergraduate.

In my opinion -
The quality of education in UFlorida should be top class for pre-med courses with plenty of opportunities for research, volunteering. A full scholarship at UFlorida would have saved 309,000 right away for undergrad.

On the other hand,
Tulane UG is ranked #40 and Tulane med school is also ranked #40 (for reference, Brown med school is ranked #38)

So Tulane’s BS/MD program with a guaranteed seat would have been an excellent choice to pursue!

@PikachuRocks15
But, ultimately it’s the students decision that counts and logic is not super important if you are in love with your UG college. Good Luck at Brown. Wish you the very best!

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If cost of education is not of concern and if one really likes it over there, the following are positive things with choosing Brown:

  1. Among Ivies Brown and Dartmouth are known to invest lot of efforts on the attention towards, experience and outcomes of their students.
  2. Unlike Cornell, Princeton and may be even UPenn among Ivies (and comparable WashU and Duke) students don't burn out due to grade deflation and intense competition.
  3. With a low student faculty ratio of single digits, the interaction with faculty, exposure and opportunities are bound to be much more satisfying than attending a public university with potentially hundreds of students in core classes like Organic chemistry and competing for opportunities.
  4. If student has a change of mind in a year or two about career path, it is a great launching pad to other alternatives with all the connections and opportunities that come along there and with the brand name.
  5. Brown medical school is really good (irrespective of what some web site says). Yes, they hardly take any ORMs for PLME but do take good numbers traditional route. The chances of acceptance of someone who went to undergrad there will be better than those applying from outside.
  6. For those who qualify for financial aid (may be a minority) it will still be affordable. So not necessarily the figures quoted above but could be a fraction of it. Myself have indirectly known a student from a single earner family, not so welk off having attended Brown.
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Just to add, most private medical school tuition for 4 years on average is around 240-260k. It is not a chump change for even those who can pay cash ( read as debt free education ). One could have saved UG cost at Brown with a full tuition scholarship at a public university and pay for the medical school later with the savings.

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Is there any data to support that Brown prefers it own UG for medical school admissions ? It is a just another speculation thrown in.

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@Vicky2019 & @rk2017

Thank you both for great insights. In my humble opinion, there is no right or wrong when choosing full cost ivies if you afford it vs full ride public school if you want to save that money for med school. For our D, she will need to apply to a few BS/MD and a few traditional schools and will make that hard decision later. :smiley:

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Agree. It is an individual’s choice. Good luck with your D’s upcoming admissions cycle.

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Congrats and All the very best in your UG experience. Thank you for sharing your information. I know this will be very helpful for the incoming students.

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@BSMD mom Congratulations!

Based on your post, I wanted to PM you and get the Consultant’s name. My DD is junior and is interested in BSMD program but with the current situation not sure how things will turn out. Since I am a new member, I couldn’t PM you as I am a new member. Greatly appreciate the help.